Chelsea and Manchester City face off in the Premier League on Sunday at 4:30pm, with Chris Kavanagh set to referee.
Kavanagh is one of the most-used referees in the Premier League this season, with this set to be his 24th game in the middle. Only Anthony Taylor will have overseen more matches in the competition in 2025-26.
Only one of Kavanagh’s 23 Premier League matches so far has involved Chelsea, but he has also refereed the Blues once in the FA Cup. It’s a similar story for Man City, with one league game and one Carabao Cup match.
Chelsea will be looking to bounce back in their quest for a top-five finish, while Man City face an uphill battle in the title race.
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Chris Kavanagh’s Chelsea record
This will be Kavanagh’s 25th Chelsea game as a referee, only overseeing three teams more. The Blues have a decent record with Kavanagh in the middle too, winning 15 and losing six (alongside three draws). Kavanagh has awarded Chelsea six penalties in total, the second-most of any team he’s officiated. He’s given two penalties against the Blues, while sending off two opposition players compared to one red card for Chelsea. The London club have also won their past four games with Kavanagh as referee, after going on a run of eight without victory.
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 24 |
| Wins | 15 |
| Draws | 3 |
| Defeats | 6 |
| League points | 39 |
| Penalties per game | 0.25 |
| Yellow cards per game | 1.75 |
| Red cards per game | 0.04 |
What happened when Chris Kavanagh last refereed Chelsea?
Kavanagh was the man in the middle for Chelsea’s routine 5-1 win over Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup third round. He showed one yellow card to each side but did also award Chelsea a late penalty after Estevao was brought down by goalkeeper Will Mannion.
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Chris Kavanagh’s Man City record
Kavanagh has “only” refereed Man City 16 time so far in his career, the least of the so-called Big Six teams. But Man City will love to see him in the middle, as they’ve won 10 of those 16 games so far. That’s not to say he’s the reason for them winning, but fans like to see referees they have good records with. Kavanagh is yet to show a red card in a Man City game, but he has awarded four penalties to the Citizens and one against.
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 16 |
| Wins | 10 |
| Draws | 3 |
| Defeats | 3 |
| League points | 30 |
| Penalties per game | 0.25 |
| Yellow cards per game | 1.81 |
| Red cards per game | 0 |
What happened when Chris Kavanagh last refereed Man City?
Kavanagh was the referee for Man City’s 2-0 win over Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup semi-final. He showed eight yellow cards in total, with each side receiving four. Two of those cards were for a clash between Nico O’Reilly and Joelinton as Kavanagh looked to diffuse the situation.
What should we expect from Chris Kavanagh?
Kavanagh is one of three referees to have awarded at least seven penalties in the Premier League this season. But he’s actually pretty lenient. He averages just 3.8 cards per game and 5.7 fouls per card. He’s not the most lenient referee, but he’s certainly not harsh. Although he can have games in which he does show a handful of cards. He scored four yellow cards and one red in his last Premier League game, as well as awarding one penalty.